Power looms industry in crisis owing to continuous increase in cost of production

MULTAN: Although Multan is the biggest centre of manufacturing man-made fabrics in the country, but now the situation is different as many power looms have stopped production due to continuous rise in cost of production.

The city has over 100,000 to 150,000 units of power looms and nearly over 500, 000 workers are facing severe financial constraints due to a surge in yarn prices, increase in gas and electricity tariffs.

Talking to the scribe, the power loom workers said electricity bills have become unaffordable aimed COVID-19 and the pandemic has frozen business activities. Khaliq Qandil Sindhu, president of All Pakistan Power loom Association said: "Electricity consumption by power loom units is generally high and power tariff plays an important role in determining the cost of grey cloth. The difference in power tariffs makes it hard to run power looms.

He said: “We have shifted our units from costly electricity to gas but now the government has proposed a 37 percent hike in gas tariff and they cannot afford new gas tariff.” The prices of imported cloth available in the market are lesser than looms’ manufactured cloth, then how can they compete and survive in the international markets in present scenario, he questioned.

Under these circumstances, it is only natural that several power loom unit owners are going to shut their units, he maintained. Influential speculators sitting in the lines of the government are manipulating yarn prices. Each bag of 45 kilogram yarn has reached Rs 28, 000 which was available at Rs 18,000 to Rs 15,000 a couple of months back. Similarly, Rs 15,000 has been increased in 40 single counts and 80 single counts yarn bags during the past couple weeks.

Khaliq Qandil demanded the government action against the speculation mafia, keeping yarn prices stable and balanced in the market. The increase in yarn prices is also a main factor that have plunged the power looms sector in a trouble.

The unchecked increase in yarn prices at the hands of speculators has hit small loom owners and they are facing serious financial problems to supply grey-cloth as per their commitments. The cloth rate has increased to Rs 15 to Rs 20 per metre, he said.

He said Rs 15,000 had been increased in the yarn bundle in March last, which had closed the doors of business. The electricity tariff and yarn prices had reached beyond the limits of buyers, he lamented. If the government does not address the issue immediately, it is feared that workers would lose their jobs in Multan, he said.

Iqbal Ansari is a small power loom owner who said he had contracted a deal with buyer to supply 150, 000 meter grey cloth at fixed rates before the increase in yarn prices but he had paid penalty after failing to supply cloth due to speculators made a big jump in yarn prices.

Power loom workers say that unaffordable power tariff is one of the reasons for closure of looms and the owners are forced to sell their parts due to overburdened electricity tariff. They said the owners received inflated electricity bills with Rs 30 per unit. The workers urged the government to reduce inflated electricity bills for power looms.